Western Front Battles

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Western Front Battles

• Canadian History 1201
• To accompany Spotlight Canada
• Pages 91-94

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YPRES.April 1915

• Located in Belgium
• Germans first launched poison gas attacks against
  allied lines
• Canadians held the line while other allied forces
  retreated
• Over 5200 Canadians were killed
• 1 in 5 was listed as KIA, MIA, gassed, or wounded

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Battle of the Somme.July 1st, 1916

• Located in France..the battle of the Somme was
  referred to as the big push
• British fired over 1.5 million shells in a
  week-long artillery bombardment leading up to the
  battle
• Soldiers were told they would be able walk across
  no-mans land leave their rifles
  behind(Germans, barbed wire, even the rats
  would be all destroyed).
• The Germans were well protected in deep dugouts
• When the shelling stopped the Germans came up
  from their dugouts setup their machine guns to
  face the British advance

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Beaumont Hamel, July 1, 1916

• Newfoundlands role during the Battle of the
  Somme
• Ninety percent of the regiment were wiped out
  (either killed or wounded) in 30 mins.

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Battle of the Somme.July 1, 1916

• Results
• At the end of the first day the British had
  suffered over 57,000 casualties
• After 5 months of battle, total casualties for
  both sides numbered 1.25 million (24,000
  Canadians)
• British only advanced 11 km (approx from St.
  Brides to Branch)
• Tanks were used for the first time in warfare

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Vimy Ridge.. April 9 , 1917

• Canadas most celebrated battle
• 100, 000 Canadians were involved
• All four Canadian divisions attacked together for
  the first time
• Canadians gained more ground, more guns, more
  German prisoners than were taken in previous 2
  years of fighting.
• Four Canadians won the Victoria Cross

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• Vimy Ridge memorial in the center

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Passchendaele

• Occurred in the fall of 1917
• Known as the Third Battle of Ypres
• The battlefield consisted of mud mire due to
  heavy rains shelling that destroyed drainage
  ditches
• Soldiers, animals, weapons, supplies was sucked
  into the earth
• Almost 16, 000 Canadians died out of almost
  500,000 allied forces
• Roughly 2 square miles had been taken

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Passchendaele